1. Field of the Invention
The fundamental field of the invention relates to apparatus and methods of operation that substantially reduce the number of steps and the complexity to drill and complete oil and gas wells. Because of the extraordinary breadth of the fundamental field of the invention, there are many related separate fields of the invention.
Accordingly, the field of invention relates to apparatus that uses the steel drill string attached to a drilling bit during drilling operations used to drill oil and gas wells for a second purpose as the casing that is cemented in place during typical oil and gas well completions. The field of invention further relates to methods of operation of apparatus that provides for the efficient installation of a cemented steel cased well during one single pass down into the earth of the steel drill string. The field of invention further relates to methods of operation of the apparatus that uses the typical mud passages already present in a typical drill bit, including any watercourses in a “regular bit”, or mud jets in a “jet bit”, that allow mud to circulate during typical drilling operations for the second independent, and the distinctly separate, purpose of passing cement into the annulus between the casing and the well while cementing the drill string into place during one single drilling pass into the earth. The field of invention further relates to apparatus and methods of operation that provides the pumping of cement down the drill string, through the mud passages in the drill bit, and into the annulus between the formation and the drill string for the purpose of cementing the drill string and the drill bit into place during one single drilling pass into the formation. The field of invention further relates to a one-way cement valve and related devices installed near the drill bit of the drill string that allows the cement to set up efficiently while the drill string and drill bit are cemented into place during one single drilling pass into the formation.
The field of invention further relates to the use of a slurry material instead of cement to complete wells during the one pass drilling of oil and gas wells, where the term “slurry material” may be any one, or more, of at least the following substances: cement, gravel, water, “cement clinker”, a “cement and copolymer mixture”, a “blast furnace slag mixture”, and/or any mixture thereof; or any known substance that flows under sufficient pressure. The field of invention further relates to the use of slurry materials for the following type of generic well completions: open-hole well completions; typical cemented well completions having perforated casings; gravel well completions having perforated casings; and for any other related well completions. The field of invention also relates to using slurry materials to complete extended reach wellbores and extended reach lateral wellbores. The field of invention also relates to using slurry materials to complete extended reach wellbores and extended reach lateral wellbores from offshore platforms.
The field of the invention further relates to the use of retrievable instrumentation packages to perform LWD/MWD logging and directional drilling functions while the well is being drilled, which are particularly useful for the one pass drilling of oil and gas wells, and which are also useful for standard well completions, and which can also be retrieved by a wireline attached to a Smart Shuttle having retrieval apparatus or by other different retrieval means. The field of the invention further relates to the use of Smart Shuttles having retrieval apparatus that are capable of deploying and installing into pipes smart completion devices that are used to automatically complete oil and gas wells after the pipes are disposed in the wellbore, which are useful for one pass drilling and for standard cased well completions, and these pipes include the following: a drill pipe, a drill string, a casing, a casing string, tubing, a liner, a liner string, a steel pipe, a metallic pipe, or any other pipe used for the completion of oil and gas wells. The field of the invention further relates to Smart Shuttles that use internal pump means to pump fluid from below the Smart Shuttle, to above it, to cause the Smart Shuttle to move within the pipe to conveniently install smart completion devices.
The field of invention disclosed herein also relates to using progressive cavity pumps and electrical submersible motors to make Smart Shuttles. The field of invention further relates to closed-loop systems used to complete oil and gas wells, where the term “to complete a well” means “to finish work on a well and bring it into productive status”. In this field of the invention, a closed-loop system to complete an oil and gas well is an automated system under computer control that executes a sequence of programmed steps, but those steps depend in part upon information obtained from at least one downhole sensor that is communicated to the surface to optimize and/or change the steps executed by the computer to complete the well.
The field of invention further relates to a closed-loop system that executes the steps during at least one significant portion of the well completion process and the completed well is comprised of at least a borehole in a geological formation surrounding a pipe located within the borehole, and this pipe may be any one of the following: a metallic pipe; a casing string; a casing string with any retrievable drill bit removed from the wellbore; a casing string with any drilling apparatus removed from the wellbore; a casing string with any electrically operated drilling apparatus retrieved from the wellbore; a casing string with any bicenter bit removed from the wellbore; a steel pipe; an expandable pipe; an expandable pipe made from any material; an expandable metallic pipe; an expandable metallic pipe with any retrievable drill bit removed from the wellbore; an expandable metallic pipe with any drilling apparatus removed from the wellbore; an expandable metallic pipe with any electrically operated drilling apparatus retrieved from the wellbore; an expandable metallic pipe with any bicenter bit removed from the wellbore; a plastic pipe; a fiberglass pipe; any type of composite pipe; any composite pipe that encapsulates insulated wires carrying electricity and/or any tubes containing hydraulic fluid; a composite pipe with any retrievable drill bit removed from the wellbore; a composite pipe with any drilling apparatus removed from the wellbore; a composite pipe with any electrically operated drilling apparatus retrieved from the wellbore; a composite pipe with any bicenter bit removed from the wellbore; a drill string; a drill string possessing a drill bit that remains attached to the end of the drill string after completing the wellbore; a drill string with any retrievable drill bit removed from the wellbore; a drill string with any drilling apparatus removed from the wellbore; a drill string with any electrically operated drilling apparatus retrieved from the wellbore; a drill string with any bicenter bit removed from the wellbore; a coiled tubing; a coiled tubing possessing a mud-motor drilling apparatus that remains attached to the coiled tubing after completing the wellbore; a coiled tubing left in place after any mud-motor drilling apparatus has been removed; a coiled tubing left in place after any electrically operated drilling apparatus has been retrieved from the wellbore; a liner made from any material; a liner with any retrievable drill bit removed from the wellbore; a liner with any liner drilling apparatus removed from the wellbore; a liner with any electrically operated drilling apparatus retrieved from the liner; a liner with any bicenter bit removed from the wellbore; any other pipe made of any material with any type of drilling apparatus removed from the pipe; or any other pipe made of any material with any type of drilling apparatus removed from the wellbore.
The field of invention further relates to a closed-loop system that executes the steps during at least one significant portion of the well completion process and the completed well is comprised of at least a borehole in a geological formation surrounding a pipe that may be accessed through other pipes including surface pipes, production lines, subsea production lines, etc.
Following the closed-loop well completion, the field of invention further relates to using well completion apparatus to monitor and/or control the production of hydrocarbons from within the wellbore.
The field of invention also relates to closed-loop systems to complete oil and gas wells that are useful for the one pass drilling and completion of oil and gas wells.
The field of the invention further relates to the closed-loop control of a tractor deployer that may also be used to complete an oil and gas well.
The invention further relates to the tractor deployer that is used to complete a well, perform production and maintenance services on a well, and to perform enhanced recovery services on a well.
The invention further relates to the tractor deployer that is connected to surface instrumentation by a substantially neutrally buoyant umbilical made from composite materials.
Yet further, the field of invention also relates to a method of drilling and completing a wellbore in a geological formation to produce hydrocarbons from a well comprising at least the following four steps: drilling the well with a retrievable drill bit attached to a casing; removing the retrievable drill bit from the casing; pumping down a one-way valve into the casing with a well fluid; and using the one-way valve to cement the casing into the wellbore.
And finally, the field of invention relates to drilling and completing wellbores in geological formations with different types of pipes having a variety of retrievable drill bits that are completed with pump-down one-way valves.
2. Description of the Related Art
From an historical perspective, completing oil and gas wells using rotary drilling techniques has in recent times comprised the following typical steps. With a pile driver or rotary rig, install any necessary conductor pipe on the surface for attachment of the blowout preventer and for mechanical support at the wellhead. Install and cement into place any surface casing necessary to prevent washouts and cave-ins near the surface, and to prevent the contamination of freshwater sands as directed by state and federal regulations. Choose the dimensions of the drill bit to result in the desired sized production well. Begin rotary drilling of the production well with a first drill bit. Simultaneously circulate drilling mud into the well while drilling. Drilling mud is circulated downhole to carry rock chips to the surface, to prevent blowouts, to prevent excessive mud loss into formation, to cool the bit, and to clean the bit. After the first bit wears out, pull the drill string out, change bits, lower the drill string into the well and continue drilling. It should be noted here that each “trip” of the drill bit typically requires many hours of rig time to accomplish the disassembly and reassembly of the drill string, pipe segment by pipe segment.
Drill the production well using a succession of rotary drill bits attached to the drill string until the hole is drilled to its final depth. After the final depth is reached, pull out the drill string and its attached drill bit. Assemble and lower the production casing into the well while back filling each section of casing with mud as it enters the well to overcome the buoyancy effects of the air filled casing (caused by the presence of the float collar valve), to help avoid sticking problems with the casing, and to prevent the possible collapse of the casing due to accumulated build-up of hydrostatic pressure.
To “cure the cement under ambient hydrostatic conditions”, typically execute a two plug cementing procedure involving a first Bottom Wiper Plug before and a second Top Wiper Plug behind the cement that also minimizes cement contamination problems comprised of the following individual steps. Introduce the Bottom Wiper Plug into the interior of the steel casing assembled in the well and pump down with cement that cleans the mud off the walls and separates the mud and cement. Introduce the Top Wiper Plug into the interior of the steel casing assembled into the well and pump down with water under pump pressure thereby forcing the cement through the float collar valve and any other one-way valves present allow the cement to cure.